Alain of Lille , Latin: Alanus de Insulis (before 1128 with Lille (?) - 1202, Abbaye of Cîteaux) is a theologist French, also known like Poète.
Of his life one knows few things. He seems to have taught in Paris and he attended the council of Lateran in 1179. He lived then Montpellier (it is called sometimes Alanus of Montepessulano), lived some time out of the fence monacale and took finally his retirement with Cîteaux, where he died in 1202.
From sound living its reputation extended very far and its knowledge, more varied than major, made it call Doctor universalis .
Works
Among its very many works, two poems place it at a honourable row in the Latin literature of the Middle Ages:- De planctu naturae ( Lamentations of Nature , towards 1168_1172), which inspired Jean de Meung for the second part of the Romance of the Rose , is a skilful satire of the defects of humanity. It created the allegory of the grammatical “conjugation” which was to have its continuations throughout the Middle Ages.
- Anticlaudianus (about 1181-1184), a treaty on the morals presented in the form of allegory, whose form points out the little book of Claudien against Rufinus, is agreeably versified and of a relatively pure Latinity.
In these two poems, the main character is consisted the Nature. These poems are representative of the direction which one employed during all Middle Ages for the interpretation of the texts: Alain of Lille informs indeed that its work must be read on three levels: for the “puerile understanding”, which continues the pleasure, there will be a literal Sens; those which want to benefit from the reading will have at their disposal a moral Sens; finally, a finer intelligence will find to be sharpened on the allegorical Sens.
Among its other works, it is necessary to quote:
- Quoniam homines , about 1165. This sum would include/understand:
- On the virtues, the defects and the gifts of the Holy Spirit .
Resting on Denys, it defends there a negative theology which it names celestial and critical science those which forget the unknowable and unutterable character of their object of study.
In this treaty, it tries to apply to theology the principle drawn from the second analytical : “any science is based on clean rules”. But, while the rules of other arts are conventional (grammar), the rules of theology have a peremptory necessity which is due to the immutable character of their object. To carry out this project, it takes for modèl exposure the Liber of Causis drawn from Proclus. Each rule is followed there of a demonstration of Euclidean form. It would be however erroneous to think that Alain believes that the articlees of faith are demonstrable. It is satisfied to establish “probable reasons” which bring the spirit of the heretics to acquiesser by the reason, since autorié of the Writings is not enough for them.
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will Contra haereticos ( Against the heretics , about 1190-1200): it refutes there the cathares, of Vaud, Jewish and Moslem.
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Ars catholicae fidei : This work formerly allotted to Nicolas of Amiens is restored today in Alain: continuing the step of the Rules of theology , it tries an immediate application of this principle and tries to prove in a geometrical way the dogmas defined in the Rules. This daring test was given up by the later Scolastique with the profit of the Dialectique. The use of terms which one generally does not use in such a context (axiom, theorem, corollary, etc) will be taken again and generalized by Spinoza much later.
Alain of Lille was often confused with other characters, in particular Alain, the archbishop of Auxerre, Alan, abbot of Tewkesbury, Alain de Podio, etc Certains facts of their lives were allotted to him, as well as some their works: thus the Vie of saint Bernard should be returned to Alain of Auxerre and the Commentaire on Merlin in Alan de Tewkesbury. Alan of Lille was not the author of Memoriale rerum difficilium, published under its name, nor of the satirical Apocalypse of Golias that one allotted to him formerly; in the same way it is extremely doubtful as Dicta Alani of lapidates philocophico is really its feather.
Theology
Alain of Lille belonged to the mystical reaction of second half of the 12th century against the first representatives of philosophy Scolastique. Its mysticism, however, is far from being as absolute as that of Victorins. In Anticlaudianus it generally expresses the idea that the reason, guided by prudence, can by itself discover the majority of the truths of the physical order, but for the apprehension of the religious truths she must trust with the faith.
The purely theological slope of its work in fact a major representative of the speculative grammar applied to theology.
Having known its Floruit between the Summa Theologica of Pierre Lombard and works of Thomas d' Aquin and Bonaventure, it will remain during the S one of the authorities quoted commonly by all the authors.
Note
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